Chapter Three

John woke to the sound of dripping water. Uh oh, had he left a tap running? He raised his head (why was he lying on his front anyway?) and his skull came into painful contact with a hard surface just above him. Consciousness returned with a rush bringing with it recent memories. He was on a rescue and, judging from the look of things, it was not going well for him. He struggled to piece together the sequence of events.

Two days after his conversation with Kyrano, they had been woken in the early hours of the morning by a call from Alan. International Rescue's help was needed in a small town on the south island of New Zealand that had been hit by an earthquake.

John had been operating the Domo, working in tandem with Gordon in the Mole while Scott co-ordinated with the local rescue services. The daylight was just starting to fade when they decided to call a halt. Scott had told them all to do a last sweep of the danger area to check for anyone they might have missed. John had finished searching his section, but on his way back, his attention had been alerted by a sound coming from a house that he had previously searched. The house was an old one, built before architects had learnt how to design for earthquake zones, and John entered with caution, treading carefully as the structure did not look very safe. "Hallo," he called. "Is anybody there?" A creaking sound made him look up, just in time to see the ceiling above him buckle and fall. He jumped back and felt the floor give way beneath his feet. That was the last thing he remembered.

He had lost his torch in the fall, but reaching a hand down, he managed to get a slim tube out of his pocket. He gave it a vigorous shake to agitate the chemicals it contained, causing it to glow. The view it revealed was not promising. He seemed to be trapped in a space about two feet high and three feet wide. His hands were free, and he could move his left leg, but trying to move his right sent a sharp pain shooting up the limb that made him catch his breath.

With a bit of careful manoeuvring, he brought his left hand into view. The face of his watch was cracked, but he hoped the electronics behind it were still intact. "John calling Mobile Control. Come in, Scott, do you read me?"

He tried again, hoping the more sensitive receivers on the space station would be able to detect his transmission.. "John to Thunderbird Five. Can you read me, Alan?"

The dripping sound had turned to a trickle, and he could feel water starting to pool under his body.

So much for the high-tech methods. How about a simpler solution? He raised his head. "Help!" he called. "Can anyone hear me?" He paused, listening for any sounds from above. "I'm down here! I need help!".

He considered trying to get his edible transmitter from his pocket, but this would only start to work once the outer capsule had been digested, and he did not think he had that much time. Already the water was trickling past his face and he was aware that even if his brothers were looking for him, they would not think to check this building as he had marked it as clear. He raised his watch again, in a forlorn hope. "Scott! Gordon! Alan! Can anybody hear me?"

A voice came from his watch, the last one he expected to hear. "I can hear you, John."

"Ellie?" John couldn't believe his ears.

"Hallo, John. Where are you? You're not in your usual place."

"No, Ellie, I'm not. I'm…" He was about to continue when something shifted in the rubble above his head. The weight resting on his leg pressed down harder, causing John to bite his lip to stop him gasping from the pain.

"John, what's the matter? Are you hurt?"

"Ellie, I'm in trouble, big trouble. If I don't get out of here soon then I'm finished."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"You'd help me? After I was so unkind to you?"

"Of course I would, John, you're my friend."

John thought quickly. "Could you take a message for me? To …to the place where you usually talk to me?"

"Yes, I can do that. What do you want me to say?"

"OK, here's the message…."

Up on Thunderbird Five, Alan was scanning the monitors, his face creased with concern. Scott had reported that John was missing, but Alan couldn't find any trace of the signal from his brother's watch.

Suddenly the Emergency Alert beeped.

'Not now' Alan thought, 'Please.'

"Alan? I've got a message from John" ('Hang on, who is this? How does she know my name?') "John is trapped in the basement of a house. It's the building just across the street from the library, the one with a blue door. The basement is filling with water, so please hurry. Oh, and he says that so that you know this message is from him, he found your copy of Playboy down behind the fridge."

Alan stared at the monitor, his cheeks reddening. Then he shook his head. Never mind how or why, at least he had the information he needed. He would have a long talk with his elder brother later. He thumbed the microphone. "Scott, I've just heard from John!"

John was using his hands as a platform to try and keep his chin out of the water when he heard noises overhead. "Hang on there, John, we're coming!"

He looked at his watch, but had no idea if he was still in contact with his ethereal friend or not. "Thank you, Ellie," he whispered. "I promise I will do whatever I can to help you in return."